State Capitol

Deputy Chief Justice Mary Noble of Lexington has become the first woman to preside over oral arguments in the Kentucky Supreme Court.  The issue before the Supreme Court was ineffective assistance of counsel in a criminal case. It's a fairly routine issue of appeal, but the proceedings were unique because, for the first time, a woman was sitting in the chief justice's chair.

Kentucky lawmakers want to know more about aviation needs, including aircraft owned and operated by the state.  The Department of Aviation has 35 employees and an annual budget of around $10 million. The department oversees three fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter. Two other planes under the department's control were sold at auction last month.

The results of Kentucky’s May 17th primary election have been officially certified.  It took the State Board of Elections less than an hour to go over the numbers and certify the primary vote tallies.  Secretary of State Elaine Walker says the only exception to the election night vote count was addressed in a recanvass conducted two weeks ago. 

The newly renovated Hall of Governors at the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort reopened over the weekend.  The Hall of Governors is literally a wide hallway in the west wing of the history center. It's lined with the portraits of dozens of Kentucky governors. In years past, visitors often breezed through the room, because there was no historical or biographical information accompanying the paintings. That's no longer the case, says Scott Alvey, who's overseeing the hall's redevelopment.

FRANKFORT, KY  - Over the objections of a bevy of birdwatchers, a sandhill crane hunting season may soon become a reality in Kentucky.   Sandhill cranes are large, migratory birds that were almost completely wiped out in the early 1900's, but rebounded with federal protection. The population east of the Mississippi River now numbers around 60,000 and many of the birds winter in Kentucky.

Power rates will rise.  That’s the bottom line of testimony in Frankfort on the costs of meeting new federal environmental standards for coal-fired utilities in Kentucky.  Representatives of several coal-fired utilities in Kentucky say meeting federal clean air standards already in the pipeline will require investments of billions of dollars.  John Voyles of LG&E and KU says their capital costs could rise by four billion dollars over the next ten years

Six Kentucky counties have been chosen at random for mandatory, post-primary election audits. Attorney General Jack Conway conducted the drawing, and the counties chosen at random to be audited are Wolfe, Boyd, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Estill and Clark. Pendleton County was drawn before Clark, but disqualified, because it was audited in the previous election. Conway says investigators will now be dispatched to the six counties drawn.

Praise is pouring in for former Kentucky Rep. Eddie Ballard of Madisonville, who died Tuesday at age 81.   The Hopkins County Democrat, who retired from the legislature last year, had served in the  Kentucky House since 1987.  He was chairman of the Tourism, Development and Energy Committee and vice-chair of the State Government committee. 

Gov. Steve Beshear's campaign says the list of Republicans backing the Kentucky Democrat's re-election bid this fall is growing.  But the man Beshear faces this fall says there are many reasons why some Republicans would be donating to a sitting governor's re-election campaign. On the day before Kentucky Republicans held their post-primary unity rally at GOP headquarters in Frankfort, Gov. Beshear's campaign released the names of 70 Republicans backing his re-election bid. Among the names was former lieutenant governor Steve Pence.

Bill Johnson of Elkton has again prevailed in the Republican primary for Kentucky Secretary of State.  On election night, Johnson defeated Hilda Legg of Somerset by just over 1,100 votes, but Legg sought a recheck of voting machine tallies.  The recanvass shows Johnson picking up five votes, and Legg gaining 11.

A Frankfort judge, in a price gouging case against Marathon Petroleum, has refused to force the oil company to roll back gas prices in Kentucky.   The ruling comes in a case originally filed several years ago, in which the oil company was accused of price gouging following disasters.

The 2010 Kentucky State Police Trooper of the Year is a veteran of Post 1 in Mayfield, in far western Kentucky.   Senior Trooper Thomas Williams was honored along with a host of other state troopers in an awards ceremony in Frankfort.

Kentucky Republicans held a post-primary rally at state GOP headquarters in Frankfort Saturday to show a united front for the fall.  But despite claims of party unity, it appears the Republicans may have a few chinks in their armor.

In the wake of Tuesday’s primary election, Kentucky Republicans, including Senate President David Williams, will hold a unity rally Saturday at state GOP headquarters in Frankfort.  But the man Williams faces in the fall is already trying to spoil the party.

In Frankfort, two economic experts battled it out in a day long hearing in Kentucky's gas price gouging case against Marathon Petroleum.  The state is accusing Marathon of illegally jacking up gasoline prices during a state of emergency declared on April 26th and still in effect.  The company denies any wrongdoing.

The top two leaders of the Kentucky House of Representatives are assessing the outcome of Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary.  Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Minority Floor Leader Jeffrey Hoover have been studying the counties captured by Senate President David Williams, who grabbed the Republican nomination.